Pre-Requisites and Checklist for D4W Marketing Module

Pre-Requisites and Checklist for D4W Marketing Module

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Before your practice can start sending marketing emails through the D4W Marketing Module, there are two things to check.
1. Check Your Practice Email Address
2. Authorise our system to send emails for you.

Check Your Practice Email Address

The D4W Marketing Module sends emails on behalf of your practice.
To do this, your practice needs an email address that is linked to your own website domain (e.g. “yourpractice.com.au”). 

What does that mean? 

Think of your email address — specifically the part after the “@” symbol.

Email Type
✔️

OK to proceed 

Your email ends with your practice’s own domain — for example: reception@yourpractice.com.au 

❌

Cannot proceed 

Your email is a free service such as: @gmail.com — @yahoo.com — @outlook.com — @hotmail.com 

Warning
Why can’t I use Gmail or Outlook? 
Email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook have rules that block bulk marketing emails from being sent through their systems.
Because of these restrictions, our marketing service (powered by SMTP2Go) is unable to send emails using free email addresses.
This is an industry-wide policy and cannot be overridden.

What Should I do if we only have a Gmail Address? 

Please speak with the person who manages your practice IT or website. You will need to: 
  1. Register a domain name for your practice (e.g. yourpractice.com.au), if you do not already have one. 
  2. Create a professional email address using that domain (e.g. reception@yourpractice.com.au). 
Once you have a domain-based email address, come back to complete the rest of this checklist. 
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Where can I register a domain? 
You can register a domain name at companies like: 
If you are unsure which to choose, ask your IT person for a recommendation.                                                                                             

Authorise Our System to Send Emails For You (CNAME Setup)

Once you have confirmed that your email address uses your own domain, there is one more technical step.
Your IT person or website host needs to add a special entry to your domains settings called a CNAME record. 

What is a CNAME record and why do I need it?

Simple explanation: A CNAME record is like a permission slip that tells email systems: “This practice has authorised SMTP2Go to send emails on their behalf.”
Without this permission, emails sent through the D4W Marketing Module will not be delivered. 
Warning
Without the CNAME record, emails will NOT be sent!
If the CNAME record is not in place, the D4W Marketing Module will not be able to deliver any emails to your patients. This is the most common reason why the service stops working.

Example: CNAME records as shown in a domain management system 

How to update common DNS Service Providers

These are examples of how to update for common DNS Service Providers

If you use GoDaddy

  1. Log in to GoDaddy Go to www.godaddy.com and sign in with your GoDaddy username and password.
  2. Go to My Products Once logged in, click on your name in the top right corner and select My Products.
  3. Find your Domain Locate your practice domain (e.g. yourpractice.com.au) and click the DNS button next to it.
  4. Add a CNAME Record Scroll down to the DNS records table and click Add New Record. Then:
    1. Set Type to CNAME
    2. Set Name/Host to em114294
    3. Set Value/Points to return.smtp2go.net
    4. Leave TTL as default
    5. Click Save
  5. Add the second CNAME Record Repeat Step 4 with the second record:
    1. Set Type to CNAME
    2. Set Name/Host to s114294._domainkey
    3. Set Value/Points to dkim.smtp2go.net
    4. Click Save
  6. You're done! It can take up to 24 hours for the changes to take effect, though it is usually much faster.

If you use CrazyDomains

  1. Log in to Crazy Domains Go to www.crazydomains.com.au and sign in with your Crazy Domains username and password.
  2. Go to My Account Once logged in, click on My Account at the top of the page, then select Domains from the menu.
  3. Find your Domain Locate your practice domain (e.g. yourpractice.com.au) and click on it to open the domain management page.
  4. Open DNS Settings Scroll down and look for the DNS section. Click Manage or DNS Settings to open your DNS records.
  5. Add the first CNAME Record Click Add Record and then:
    1. Set Record Type to CNAME
    2. Set Host/Name to em114294
    3. Set Points To/Value to return.smtp2go.net
    4. Leave TTL as default
    5. Click Save or Update
  6. Add the second CNAME Record Repeat Step 5 with the second record:
    1. Set Record Type to CNAME
    2. Set Host/Name to s114294._domainkey
    3. Set Points To/Value to dkim.smtp2go.net
    4. Click Save or Update
  7. You're done! It can take up to 24 hours for the changes to take effect, though it is usually much faster.
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For full technical details, your IT person can also refer to the SMTP2Go documentation:

Alternative option — Safe Sender setting 

If your IT person is unable to add the CNAME record, there is a secondary option.
Please ask your Centaur support contact about the “Safe Sender Email” setting. This is a workaround that may allow emails to be sent in some cases.

Quick Summary Checklist

Please confirm both of the following before contacting us to complete your setup:
  1. My practice email uses our own domain (not Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook) 
    Example: reception@mypractice.com.au 
  2. Our IT person has added the CNAME records to our domain 
    Or we have arranged the Safe Sender alternative with Centaur support

Need help? 

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We are happy to walk you through what is needed or liaise with your IT provider.
If you are unsure about any of these steps, please contact your Centaur Software support team before proceeding.
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Related Article.
Get started with the D4W Marketing interface: Setup & Manage D4W Marketing